One of the president’s aides has revealed that the president has officially withdrawn from the insurmountable task of changing Washington politics, instead adopting a new goal of reforming the complex political machine. A very noble and necessary undertaking, but will his constituents begin jumping ship in droves, feeling duped by our nation’s first black president?
The president’s new 2010 strategy, arrived at after weeks of internal debate, is reported to include tough new campaign finance law, pushing back against the deeply unpopular Citizens United Supreme Court ruling. “Americans really turned against this opinion,” one official tells Politico, “so the biggest reform is to ensure that our politics and our campaigns are not controlled by special interests.”
The president will also put emphasis on his style of transparent government, ordering federal agencies to be more open about what goes on behind closed doors.
President Obama’s other big theme will be American competitiveness, an umbrella he’ll use to tackle innovation, energy and education— “all areas where Republican obstruction is preventing progress,” said one White House official.
Allies of Obama are saying they’re convinced reformers will win big in 2010: “A reformer can be a Republican or a Democrat — it’s not going to matter.”
Others, however are confident that the GOP will do all within its power to cut the president off at the knees in order to regain control of the country, giving “what’s good for the people” second billing to this party-serving push; a sad fact, but certainly being proven true.
While the Tea Partiers, with Sarah Palin at the helm, are spreading their message of less big government, a known Democratic approach to politics, and other Republicans are plotting and scheming to overthrow Obama and the Democrats, fledgling Obama supporters are trying to hold on to hope. Now, though, with the shift in priorities, will they start listening to the opposing voices that are growing louder and louder with each passing day? The probability appears to be high. His support from the black community remains relatively solid, but we only compose a small percentage of the overall voting population. Is our history-making president in danger of being a one-term leader? –gerald radford
